A news report published Sunday by an online portal said that the three US giants are in the race to acquire the cash-strapped telco basis which Vodafone Idea’s stock has rallied around 20% over the past two weeks.
“This is in relation to (a) News Item titled ”Vodafone Idea to be acquired by a US telecom giant Soon? Verizon, Amazon, or Starlink, in the race”, which is doing rounds in electronic and social media. We wish to submit that the said News Item is incorrect. The Company is not in any such discussion with any of the named parties,” the telco said in a filing to the BSE.
Between August 16, 2023 and September 15, 2023, the Vi stock has jumped 50% to Rs 11.73, shortly after ET reported that the telco is close to tying up its much-delayed equity funding and that it has term sheets from several potential investors.
Media reports said that market experts expect one of the three US companies – telecom major Verizon, e-commerce giant Amazon, and Elon Musk’s Starlink – were potential investors to pick up controlling stake in the cash strapped Indian telco.Vodafone Idea is promoted by UK’s Vodafone Group and Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, both together holding 50.1% stake. The government is the company’s largest shareholder with a 33.1% stake after it converted the telco’s accrued interest towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR) arrears into equity in February 2023.Media reports also said that the market expected the share price to rally to Rs 25 soon if the government agrees to sell its stake in the company to one of the three US-based companies mentioned.The telco’s share price closed at Rs 11.73 at the end of trading Friday and opened at Rs 12.38 the following Monday. The stock was trading at Rs 11.73 at the time of filing.
